East Midlands House Price & Rent to Income Ratios
How do East Midlands house prices and rents compare with local wages? Compare the cost of a home with annual pay, and monthly rent with monthly pay, using official source data.
What stands out in East Midlands?
- House prices compared with pay: East Midlands ranks 4 out of 9 English regions, ordered from the lowest price-to-pay ratio.
- Rent compared with pay: its separate rent-to-pay position is 3 out of 9, ordered from the lowest percentage.
- The type of home makes a difference: flats and maisonettes average 3.2× annual resident pay, compared with 9.1× for detached homes.
- Rental size matters: average rent ranges from 20.0% of one median resident income for one bedroom to 43.3% for four or more bedrooms.
Rankings compare these specific ratios, rather than overall living costs or whether a particular household can afford a home. Equal unrounded ratios share a rank; gaps can be hidden by display rounding.
East Midlands house price to income ratio
Average house price divided by annualised median full-time resident pay.
£241,955 ÷ £39,198 = 6.2× annual earnings
The average home in East Midlands costs about 6.2 times the annualised gross pay of a typical full-time resident employee. This is also described as a house price to salary, wage or earnings ratio.
Compared with United Kingdom, the price-to-pay ratio is 0.3 ratio points lower. Lower ratios mean prices are closer to local earnings.
This comparison does not predict mortgage approval or the number of years needed to save for a home. Deposits, interest rates, debts, tax and household spending affect what a buyer can afford.
East Midlands rent to income ratio
Average monthly rent divided by monthly gross resident pay, shown as a percentage.
£928 ÷ (£39,198 ÷ 12) × 100 = 28%
Average rent in East Midlands is equivalent to 28% of one full-time resident employee’s gross monthly pay. This rent-to-salary or rent-to-wages comparison uses pay before income tax and National Insurance.
That is 11.6 percentage points below the United Kingdom comparison.
This is a comparison of area averages, not the percentage actually paid by every renter. A household may have more than one income, while bills, council tax and other costs are additional. Gross-pay and take-home-pay percentages are different; this page does not apply a personal affordability pass or fail threshold.
What explains East Midlands’s housing costs relative to pay?
UK HPI: August 2026 · ONS rents: September 2026 · Employment released 20 Oct 2026 · Earnings released 22 Oct 2026
House prices and resident earnings
In August 2026, the East Midlands average house price was £241,955, 11.4% lower than the UK average. ASHE resident median annual pay for 2026 was £39,198, 7.1% lower than the UK figure. The average house-price-to-annual-pay ratio was 6.2×, 4.6% lower than the UK ratio. Because both prices and earnings were lower locally, their differences partly offset in this comparison; housing costs were the larger component in the mathematical decomposition of the ratio gap. These are UK House Price Index and ASHE comparisons, with different source periods; the ratio is not a measure of household or mortgage affordability.
The average house price was 0.5% higher over the year. Its annual rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the UK rate.
Private rents and resident earnings
In September 2026, the East Midlands average rent was £928, 34.0% lower than the UK average. The average rent-to-gross-monthly-resident-pay measure was 28.4%; the comparable rent/pay ratio was 29.0% lower than the UK ratio. Resident annual pay was also 7.1% lower than the UK figure, so the cost and earnings differences partly offset in the comparison. Housing costs were the larger component in the mathematical decomposition of the ratio gap. ONS private-rent statistics include new and existing tenancies; regional averages are not advertised rents or individual property comparables, and the ratio is not a household affordability measure.
Rents were 3.8% higher over the year. The annual rate was unchanged from the UK rate (a 0.0 percentage points difference).
Analysis refreshes with the published source data. ONS housing statistics · UK HPI · Nomis labour statistics
House price to income by property type in East Midlands
UK HPI August 2026 prices compared with ASHE 2026 resident pay.
The overall average combines different types of home. This breakdown shows how the price-to-salary comparison changes when looking at a flat, terrace, semi-detached or detached home.
| Property type | Average price | Price / annual pay |
|---|---|---|
| Flats and maisonettes | £124,216 | 3.2× |
| Terraced homes | £187,398 | 4.8× |
| Semi-detached homes | £231,098 | 5.9× |
| Detached homes | £355,978 | 9.1× |
These are averages for each property type across the area. They do not describe a specific street, condition or bedroom count, and the earnings figure is not the income of buyers of that type of home.
Rent to income by number of bedrooms in East Midlands
ONS average monthly rents for September 2026.
A single overall rent can hide the difference between smaller and larger homes. Compare each bedroom category with one median resident income, then with an illustrative household earning twice that amount.
| Bedrooms | Monthly rent | One median income | Two median incomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | £652 | 20.0% | 10.0% |
| Two bedrooms | £831 | 25.4% | 12.7% |
| Three bedrooms | £1,000 | 30.6% | 15.3% |
| Four or more bedrooms | £1,413 | 43.3% | 21.6% |
The two-income column assumes two people each earning £39,198 gross annually. This is an example, not a measured median household income. A family may have one earner, different pay levels or other costs. ONS average rents cover the rental stock and are not a quote for currently advertised homes.
What would the average East Midlands rent mean for different incomes?
Using the area’s £928 average monthly rent, these examples show how the share changes at different gross annual income levels. The income amounts are illustrative, rather than local salary percentiles.
| Annual income | Monthly equivalent | Rent share |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £2,083 | 44.5% |
| £35,000 | £2,917 | 31.8% |
| £50,000 | £4,167 | 22.3% |
These percentages use pay before deductions. They do not calculate take-home pay, household bills, benefit entitlement or a landlord’s referencing decision.
Compare East Midlands with other areas
All rows use the same source periods and calculation. Regional and UK figures use their own official price, rent and pay series; they are not averages of the local ratios.
| Area | House price | Monthly rent | Annualised pay | Price / pay | Rent / pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | £241,955 | £928 | £39,198 | 6.2× | 28% |
| United Kingdom | £273,037 | £1,406 | £42,182 | 6.5× | 40% |
| North West England | £220,393 | £975 | £39,822 | 5.5× | 29% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £209,266 | £869 | £39,016 | 5.4× | 27% |
| North East England | £165,640 | £790 | £38,090 | 4.3× | 25% |
| West Midlands | £250,731 | £983 | £39,863 | 6.3× | 30% |
| East of England | £337,848 | £1,298 | £44,632 | 7.6× | 35% |
| Greater London | £554,430 | £2,338 | £50,300 | 11.0× | 56% |
| South East England | £379,953 | £1,438 | £45,022 | 8.4× | 38% |
| South West England | £304,139 | £1,251 | £40,695 | 7.5× | 37% |
Local authorities in East Midlands
35 configured local authorities are listed. Suppressed earnings stay unavailable.
| Area | House price | Monthly rent | Annualised pay | Price / pay | Rent / pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Valley | £232,141 | £807 | £43,134 | 5.4× | 22% |
| Ashfield | £189,498 | £799 | £36,062 | 5.3× | 27% |
| Bassetlaw | £211,488 | £735 | £37,029 | 5.7× | 24% |
| Blaby | £293,412 | £998 | £40,019 | 7.3× | 30% |
| Bolsover | £183,198 | £700 | £37,003 | 5.0× | 23% |
| Boston | £180,174 | £809 | £34,788 | 5.2× | 28% |
| Broxtowe | £251,231 | £943 | £40,113 | 6.3× | 28% |
| Charnwood | £270,351 | £967 | £40,227 | 6.7× | 29% |
| Chesterfield | £202,519 | £760 | £37,820 | 5.4× | 24% |
| Derby | £210,076 | £871 | £38,766 | 5.4× | 27% |
| Derbyshire Dales | £341,776 | £828 | £46,930 | 7.3× | 21% |
| East Lindsey | £208,075 | £707 | £36,364 | 5.7× | 23% |
| Erewash | £218,506 | £838 | £40,383 | 5.4× | 25% |
| Gedling | £245,028 | £909 | £41,558 | 5.9× | 26% |
| Harborough | £341,706 | £982 | £45,843 | 7.5× | 26% |
| High Peak | £265,635 | £938 | £40,919 | 6.5× | 28% |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £258,960 | £932 | £38,912 | 6.7× | 29% |
| Leicester | £226,881 | £1,020 | £34,705 | 6.5× | 35% |
| Lincoln | £182,294 | £947 | £36,176 | 5.0× | 31% |
| Mansfield | £184,895 | £797 | £34,242 | 5.4× | 28% |
| Melton | £286,469 | £810 | £37,232 | 7.7× | 26% |
| Newark and Sherwood | £236,524 | £818 | £41,803 | 5.7× | 23% |
| North East Derbyshire | £253,012 | £793 | £41,501 | 6.1× | 23% |
| North Kesteven | £242,384 | £826 | £42,125 | 5.8× | 24% |
| North Northamptonshire | £252,884 | £995 | £39,291 | 6.4× | 30% |
| North West Leicestershire | £282,397 | £920 | £40,201 | 7.0× | 27% |
| Nottingham | £189,547 | £1,015 | £34,206 | 5.5× | 36% |
| Oadby and Wigston | £257,504 | £1,022 | £38,043 | 6.8× | 32% |
| Rushcliffe | £329,528 | £1,050 | £44,678 | 7.4× | 28% |
| Rutland | £307,406 | £966 | £45,604 | 6.7× | 25% |
| South Derbyshire | £259,537 | £888 | £41,881 | 6.2× | 25% |
| South Holland | £226,156 | £779 | £36,301 | 6.2× | 26% |
| South Kesteven | £265,305 | £846 | £39,733 | 6.7× | 26% |
| West Lindsey | £210,754 | £744 | £39,458 | 5.3× | 23% |
| West Northamptonshire | £289,726 | £1,088 | £41,631 | 7.0× | 31% |
Questions about prices, rents and pay in East Midlands
What is the house price to salary ratio in East Midlands?
The average house price is £241,955, equivalent to 6.2 times annualised median resident pay of £39,198. “Income”, “salary”, “wages” and “earnings” here all refer to this same gross full-time employee pay measure.
What percentage of salary goes on the average rent in East Midlands?
Average rent of £928 is 28.4% of the monthly equivalent of one median resident income. This compares two area statistics; it does not measure what every renter actually spends.
Does a lower house price to income ratio make buying cheaper than renting?
It shows a lower purchase price relative to earnings. A buy-versus-rent decision also needs deposit, mortgage interest, maintenance, fees and the time spent in the home. The purchase multiple and rental percentage measure different things and cannot decide that question by themselves.
Why might another website show a different affordability figure?
Check the boundary, source dates, average versus median prices, and whether the denominator is individual or household income. This page uses the official regional boundary, UK HPI average prices and gross resident employee pay. The source definitions below explain those choices.
Source dates, definitions and changes over time
House prices are UK HPI mix-adjusted average prices for August 2026. Rents are ONS average private rents for September 2026. Pay is the median gross weekly earnings of full-time employees living in the area, annualised by the source pipeline, from ASHE 2026.
The boundary is the official East Midlands region (E12000004). Individuals’ earnings are not the same as total household income.
Our house-price comparison differs from the official ONS median-price-to-earnings series. The ONS private-rental affordability statistic uses private-renting household income; this page uses individual resident pay. Those measures should not be compared as though their denominators were identical.
Prices and rents refresh monthly; earnings typically update annually. A true historical ratio needs earnings for each historical period. We do not divide historical prices by today’s pay and present that as historical affordability.
- Source 1: gov.uk — UK House Price Index
- Source 2: ons.gov.uk — private rents
- Source 3: nomisweb.co.uk — resident earnings
- Source 4: ons.gov.uk — ONS data and methodology
- Source 5: ons.gov.uk — ONS data and methodology
- Source 6: ons.gov.uk — ONS data and methodology
- Source 7: ons.gov.uk — ONS data and methodology
ONS housing affordability definition · ONS rental affordability methodology